Glimpse of glory

The nation of Israel, the chosen people of God, is being ground down under the oppressive and violent heel of infidels.

That is the situation when a man named Daniel has a vision of glory: the glory of God himself, of the Son of Man, and of God's everlasting and indestructible saving power.

That is the vision we hear in today's first reading (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14).

As I watched:

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
his throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened and the books were opened.

As the visions during the night continued, I saw:

One like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
The one like a Son of man
received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Later, the hopes of Israel would be lifted up in a small group men who recognized that the Son of Man, the Messiah, had come announcing the kingdom of heaven.

And then he told them that he would be crucified.

Their hopes were crushed.

And then, a few days later, as we hear in today's Gospel (Mark 9:2-10), they had a glimpse of glory

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!"

The Transfiguration was only a glimpse and many dark days lay ahead, but the power of that glimpse would remain with Peter for the rest of his life, even as we hear from him in today's second reading (2 Peter 1:16-19):

For he received honor and glory from God the Father
when that unique declaration
came to him from the majestic glory,
"This is my Son, my beloved,
with whom I am well pleased."

We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven
while we were with him on the holy mountain.

The days in which we now live may be dark days for some of us and darker days lie ahead for many of us (may God have mercy on us all).

Yet each one of us in different ways have been given glimpses of glory.

Perhaps these glimpses have been the dim but true reflections of God's love through the kindness of others.

Perhaps we have been blessed with glimpses of glory in a moment of prayer and reflection.

Perhaps we have experienced a glimpse of God's glory through the Blessed Sacrament.

However dark or fair our days may now be, may we always cherish the glimpses of glory we have received by the grace of God and may God bless us with ever greater glimpses and signs of his glory through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and the True Light of the World.

You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until day dawns
and the morning star rises in your hearts.